SPECIAL REPORT ON POTENTIAL OIL POLLUTION EUTROPHICATION AND POLLUTION FROM WATERCRAFT CANADA UNITED STATES THIRDINTERIM REPORT ON POLLUTION OF LAKEERIE LAKE ONTARIO AND THE INTERNATIONAL SECTION OF THE ST LAWRENCE RIVER BY THE INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION APRIL I970 TABLE OF CONTENTS MAP OF LAKE ERIE AND LAKE ONTARIO BASINS....Frontispiece INTRODUCTION ................................ 1 OIL POLLUTION IN LAKE ERIE.................. 5 EUTROPHICATION .............................. 14 POLLUTION FROM WATERCRAFT ................... 22 CONCLUSIONS ................................. 24 RECOMMENDATIONS ............................. 28 APPENDIX The References .......................... 33 INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION SPECIAL REPORT on P OTE:NTIAL OIL POLLUTION, EUTROPHICATIOI!JA ,N D POLLUTION FROM WATERCRAFT This is the third interimreport on the water pollution of Lake Erie, Lake Ontarioand the InternationalSection of the St LawrenceRiver. The first interimreport, dated December 1965, informedthe two Governments cf the then known cond.itionsin Lake Erie andLake Ontario and the more significantsources of pollution.That report outlined the three phasesof the Commission'sintegrated programme for its investigation. The secondinterim report, dated August 1968, brieflyoutlined the progress made by theCommission's twoTechnical Advisory Boards and also summarized theprogress being made inimplementing remedial measures on both sides of the boundary. The first phase of theinvestigation was completedin 1969. Theseshort-term concentrated studies were designed to securefactual information on the two lakes and the St Lawrence River as well as theextent, origins and effects of pollution. The secondand third phases,involving detailed continuingstudies and research, were initiated during the first phaseand are continuing. The InternationalJoint Commission is aware of the anxietyand wide public interestconcerning the water 2 quality of these waters. After a thoroughinquiry into the pollutionproblems of Lake Erie, Lake Ontarioand the Inter- nationalSection of the St Lawrence River, the Commission concluded that three items of concern,namely oil pollution, eutrophicationand pollution from watercraft, should now be brought to the attention of the two Governments as a matter of urgency. TheCommission will reportcomprehensively and as expeditiously as practicable on the otheraspects of the inquiryundertaken by the Commission at therequest of the twoGovernments. These otheraspects will include but will not be limited to such matters as transboundary movement of pollution, water qualityobjectives and remedial measures. The comprehensivereport may also contain further detail regarding the subject matter of this interimreport but it will not materially alter the recommendationscontained herein. By reference dated October 7, 1964, the Governments of Canada and the United States requested the International Joint Commission toinvestigate and report upon the extent, causes, locations and effects of pollutionin the waters of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the InternationalSection of the St Lawrence River and to recommend the mostpracticable remedial measures which might be considered necessary. The text of the reference is appended hereto. 3 On March 21, 1969, following a serious oil pollution incidentoff the California coast, the two Governments requested the Commission to make a special report on the adequacyof existing safety requirements applicable to underwaterdrilling and production operations in Lake Erie to prevent oil escapinginto the Lake: the adequacy of known methods of confiningand cleaning up any major oil spill that may occurin Lake Erie fromany source: andthe adequacy of existing contingency plans, and their implementation,for dealing with such oil spills. The text of the letter of March 21, 1969, fromthe two Govern- ments is also appendedhereto. After an initial review, the Commission made public on October 8, 1969, a detailed Summary Report on thepollu- tionof Lake Erie, Lake Ontarioand the International Section of the St LawrenceRiver submitted to the Commission by the twoTechnical Advisory Boards it establishedfor that purpose in December, 1964. TheBoards and their Committeesconsisted ofacknowledged experts from the agencies of the two Federal Governments, the Province of Ontarioand the States of New York,Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan.Similarly, on October 27, 1969, the Commission made public a specialreport entitled "Potential Oil PollutionIncidents from Oil and Gas Well Activities in Lake Erie", prepared by its International Lake Erie Water PollutionBoard. Both reports were given 4 wide distributionand public hearinqs were scheduledin eachcountry. Notices of thehearings were published in accordancewith the Commission's Rules of Procedureand were also mailed to many persons known to be interested. The publichearings on potential oil pollution in Lake Erie were heldin Toronto, Ontario on December 2 and inCleveland, Ohio on December 3, 1969.The hearings on the pollution of Lake Erie, Lake Ontarioand the Inter- nationalSection of the St Lawrence River were held in Erie, Pennsylvaniaon January 20, Toledo,Ohio on January 21, London,Ontario on January 23, Hamilton,Ontario on February 2, Rochester, New Yorkon February 4 and Brockville, Ontario on February 6, 1970. At thesehearings, all thoseinterested were given opportunityto convey relevant information to the Commission andexpress their viewsorally or in writing. In fact more than 200 statements were made by elected representatives, spokesmen forgovernmental agencies, local organizations, industryand many privateindividuals. OIL POLLUTION IN LAKE ERIE The International Lake Erie Water Pollution Board in responseto the Commission'sdirective of April 1, 1969 and with theconcurrence of the Commission,established an ad hoc committee of its members to expeditethe exam- inationof drilling regulations and procedures, containment and cleanup of oil spills,and contingency plans. Thead hoc committee consultedresponsible provincial, state and federal agenciesin both countries. The drillingregu- lations were reviewed with state andprovincial geologists anddrilling specialists. Thead hoc committee examined in detail the drilling regulations of Ontario and Pennsyl- vaniaand the proposedrules and regulations of New York andOhio. Pursuant toMichigan's long-standing policy, leases of state owned bottomland in the Great Lakes are notgranted for offshore drilling. The committee also examinedthe means available to clean up oil spills and the status of contingencyplanning. Lake Erie is anessential source of fresh water for some ten millionpeople that live on or near its shores. Thus in its concern with the qualityof Lake Erie waters, the Commissionmust take accountof potential as we11 as currentsources of oil pollution. The potentialfor serious incidents of oil pollution includes but is by nomeans 5 6 limited tounderwater oil and gas explorationand develop- ment.In order to place the threat of pollution from drilling in its properperspective it is necessary to consider the significantamounts of oil pollution from municipaland industrial sources, shipping, product trans- fer, shorestorage and pipelines. The Commissioners were appalled at the insidious intrusionof vast amounts of oil from the populousand in- dustrializedcommunities in the Lake Erie basin.For exampleduring 1969 more than1000 barrels perday of oils andgreases were dischargedinto the Detroit River, the majortributary to Lake Erie. The BuffaloRiver is another significantsource of oil pollution of boundary waters. These oils and greases occasionallyappear as slicks on the water surfacebut more oftenare emulsified in the effluents. Some of thesepollutants are adsorbedonto the suspendedload in the riverand are depositedas sediment. Such is the situ- ation in Cleveland Harbor where it was estimated that 17,600 tons of oil and grease were included in the 660,000 tonsof dry solids removed during the 1966-67dredging operations. (These wastes arecurrently being placed in a dykeddisposal area. ) The Commission is concernedabout the numerous acci- dentalspills. In April 1969 it was estimated that 2,300 7 barrels of cutting oil from one industrial spill in the TrentonChannel of the Detroit River enteredthe western basinof Lake Erie. TheCommission fully appreciates the implications for Lake Erie of therecent groundings of theships "Arrow" and"Delian Appollon" off the coasts of Nova Scotia and Florida respectively. TheCommission was in- formed that onLake Erie at anyone time duringthe navi- gationseason 22 lakefreighters, 4 laketankers and 7 deep sea freighters carry an estimated 120,000 barrels of oil as eitherfuel or cargo.These facts illustratethe gravity of the total oil pollution threat onLake Erie and theneed for adequate controls over the several aspects whichcomprise the total threat. Lake Erie is partof a stable geologicbasin, the latest movenentsoccurring over 200 millionyears ago. These structural movements were gentleand did not involve extensivefolding and faulting of thestrata. The eastern andcentral basins of Lake Erie are in what is essentially a gasprovince. The traps of hydrocarbons are stratigraphic (lateral changesin permeability within widespread rock units) , or were formedby ancient porous coral reefs. The bed rock sediments,into which the surfacecasing required in drilling operationsmust be cemented, are a minimum of 300 million yearsold, hard, and competent enough to controlany sub- surfacepressures that might be encountered. The pressures